GENE'S BLOG: Av What It Takes

It doesn't matter what league or sport you are in. There are games on the schedule where you look and wonder what it will be like to face a team expected to deliver greatness – a team that everyone looks at to see how they measure up.

Are they good enough or not quite good enough? Can they compete or is it destined to be a defeat? Do you have what it takes or will it take more?

It was the way not just one but both teams at Rogers Place Saturday night had to be feeling about the first meeting of the season between two of the NHL's most talented hockey clubs. Central Division meets Pacific Division.

Colorado vs. Edmonton was highlighted on the schedule by not only Avalanche and Oilers fans, but by anyone who enjoys being entertained by what happens on a 200-by-85-foot sheet of ice.

This was no middleweight or bantamweight battle but instead a meeting of two of the NHL's heavyweights. It looked like a boxing match had broken out in the opening period of play, with neither team opening itself up and leaving themselves prone to a knockout punch early in the bout. Instead, they took it slow (relatively speaking for two fast teams) and steady, sticking to their structure and game plan to not leave themselves exposed to trouble.

At the behest of Sportsnet ace analyst and insider Elliotte Friedman, the teams opened it up in the second period. What Elliotte said in the first intermission about fans wanting and expecting more offence arrived. You might not have noticed if you were just checking the box score, but if you were checking out the game on Hockey Night in Canada you would have seen two teams starting to deliver the product to match the hype.

It was only 1-0 Avalanche after 40 minutes, but this was a game beginning to open up for the NHL version of Stars On Ice. McDavid, MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Makar and Bouchard just to name a half-dozen doozies patrolling the ice at both ends. The home side turned it up in the third by evening the score and then taking the lead only to have Colorado come back to tie it and force overtime.

A late Saturday start just got a little later in its finish time. In fact, it might have taken us into Sunday if it wasn't for the last half-second of the game. The dramatic OT finish brought to mind the quote, "it ain't over til it's over".

With everyone bracing for a shootout, it never materialized. Game over courtesy Artturi Lehkonen, but what a game it was between the teams with the sixth and 10th best records in the NHL. It left everyone wanting more between these two well-built squads.

After the game, it was a slew of quotes and comments about what the evening was like from both sides of the result. Draisaitl called it as close to a playoff game as you can play without actually being in one. MacKinnon said he thought Edmonton would be very good and they were.

Colorado bench boss Jared Bednar said you can't get a much better game than the one that was played at Rogers Place. His counterpart Kris Knoblauch felt Edmonton played better as the evening went on and added it wasn't their best game, but that also had something to do with the opposition.

Stuart Skinner was disappointed in the final result but he and his team proved they can play with Colorado. It was a reflection of the respect each of these teams has for the other. It was on display in front of the fans during the game and the microphones afterwards. This was a night dedicated to setting the stage for further matchups down the road.

I must admit an apology is in order to the NHL's schedule maker. When I first saw Edmonton wasn't going to play Colorado until the final quarter of the season I thought it was a misprint. How could that be possible? Now I know exactly what they were thinking. No need to use up a date in October or November when you could save the best for last. That will be the case.

Including Saturday's showdown, these two will meet three times in the final 18 games of Edmonton's season. Absolute genius idea. I can hardly wait for April 5 at Rogers Place and April 18 in Denver.

Despite the last half-second loss, Edmonton is proving they Av what it takes to contend.